Following her critically-acclaimed trilogy FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 2 & 3), Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog, In The Blood) returns with a world premiere play about race, friendship, and our rapidly unraveling social contract.

Long-time friends and lovers Leo, Misha, Ralph, and Dawn are educated, progressive, cosmopolitan, and woke. But when a racially motivated incident with the cops leaves Leo shaken, he decides extreme measures must be taken for self-preservation.

The Public’s Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis (Julius Caesar, Public Works Twelfth Night), directs this fierce new drama about what happens when the unspoken and the unspeakable come head-to-head.

Daveed Diggs

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DAVEED DIGGS (Leo). Tony, Grammy, and Lucille Lortel Award winning actor, writer, rapper, and producer Daveed Diggs broke out in Broadway’s Hamilton. His critically-acclaimed film Blindspotting (Lionsgate) earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Male Lead. Diggs will next be seen in the feature Velvet Buzzsaw (Netflix) and on television in “Snowpiercer” (TNT) and “Undone” (Netflix). His previous films include Wonder (Lionsgate) and Ferdinand (Fox). His television appearances include “Bob’s Burgers” (Fox), “Bojack Horseman” (Netflix), “black-ish” (ABC), “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (Netflix), “Tour de Pharmacy” (HBO), “The Get Down” (Netflix), and “The Mayor” (ABC) which he also executive produced. Diggs is a member of the West Coast-based hip-hop trio, clipping.

Sheria Irving

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SHERIA IRVING (Misha) has appeared on Broadway in Romeo and Juliet (Richard Rodgers Theater). Her Off-Broadway and New York theater credits include Crowndation: I Will Not Lie to David (National Black Theatre); Fit for a Queen (Classical Theatre of Harlem); While I Yet Live (Primary Stages); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Masterworks); and Ethel Sings (Theater Row). She has appeared regionally in The Model American (Williamstown Theatre Festival); and Cymbeline and The Winter’s Tale (Yale Rep). Her film and television credits include Lena Waithe’s “Twenties” (TBS); “The Good Wife,” and “Madam Secretary” (CBS).

Thomas Sadoski

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THOMAS SADOSKI (Ralph) currently stars in the CBS comedy series “Life in Pieces.” Some of Sadoski’s film credits are Wild, The Last Word, John Wick, John Wick: Chapter Two, I Smile Back, and Take Care. His additional television credits include “The Newsroom,” “The Slap,” and appearances in each of the series in the “Law & Order” franchise, among others. His Broadway credits include reasons to be pretty, which earned him a Tony Award nomination and three other nominations; Other Desert Cities; The House of Blue Leaves; and his Broadway debut, Reckless. His Off-Broadway credits include Other Desert Cities (Obie and Lortel Awards), The Way We Get By, As You Like It, The Tempest, Becky Shaw (Lortel Award), This Is Our Youth, The Mistakes Madeline Made, Gemini, Stay, Where We’re Born, Jump/Cut, All This Intimacy, and The General from America, and over 20 regional productions at Williamstown, the Long Wharf, and others.

White Noise

In the bowling alley, Leo tells the group:

“40 is an auspicious number. Jesus was 40 days in the desert, Hindus offer devotionals in groups of 40. The flood lasted 40 days and 40 nights. I think Buddha did 40 under the tree. “Quarantine” comes from “Quaranta” which means 40. Moses did 40 days on the mountain. The Prophet did 40 days in the cave. Jesus, again, did 40 when he fasted.”

White Noise

In the play, Misha’s YouTube show “Ask A Black” reminds us of this quintessential Chappelle’s Show sketch “Ask a Black Dude” – here’s the ‘walking’ segment, if you’ve never seen it (or if you just want a laugh).

13 January

#chappelle's show#ask a black dude#white noise#comedy#digiturgy

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White Noise

Okay but… what does white noise actually sound like? Other than, you know, ‘white noise’? Here’s a white noise machine (3 hours of it, in case you really want to do a deep-dive) to explain it once and for all)

(This version has “holes open” which means… something, and so presumably there might be other white noise sounds out there and we encourage you to experiment with your own, should you be in the market for such a device.)

White Noise

Collegiate bowling is no joke – and while only women’s bowling has an NCAA division, the USBC (owners of the fantastic www.bowl.com domain name) oversees competitive bowling at the intramural, collegiate, and professional levels. More than you could possibly want to know about competitive bowling can be found at the link above.

12 January

#bowling#usbc#white noise#digiturgy#sports!

Background Image Photo Credit: Joseph Augstein

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